Ranking the 3 most heart-breaking losses of Tom Brady’s NFL career

Tom Brady is one of the the greatest NFL players of all-time. He's won seven Super Bowl rings as a member of the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is also known to come up clutch when it matters the most. He's dug his teams out of multiple holes on the way to some of the most historic victories in history. Brady is in fact the player with the most wins in NFL history, having won 243 games in his 22-year career thus far.

However, for all the heights of his time in the NFL, Brady has also suffered some gutting defeats. While some of these were due to his poor play, some were down to the team as a whole.

Here are the three most heart-breaking losses of Tom Brady's career:

#3. Los Angeles Rams, January 23, 2022 - Divisional Round

NFC Divisional Playoffs - Los Angeles Rams v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

One of the most gut-wrenching losses of Tom Brady’s storied career came in his last game. This was in the 2021 Divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams held a commanding 27-3 lead late into the third quarter before Brady found his form.

Brady hit wide receiver Mike Evans for a long touchdown pass, and the Buccaneers defense finally made some stops. Following two rushing touchdowns from Leonard Fournette, the game was tied. With under a minute to go, the game looked destined for overtime.

However, Matt Stafford quickly drove the Rams up the field. He hit Cooper Kupp for a long completion before Matt Gay nailed a 30-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.

#2. Denver Broncos, January 24th, 2016 - AFC Championship game

New England Patriots v Denver Broncos

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady met multiple times as they battled for supremacy in the AFC conference. The duo met once again in the AFC Championship game of the 2016 season. Manning’s Broncos faced off against Brady’s Patriots.

The game was well matched, but Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed an extra-point in the first quarter. With 12 seconds left, Brady threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski. New England had to go for two to tie the score.

Brady’s pass fell incomplete and that was the end of the season for New England. They had lost 20-18. To make matters worse, Denver went on to beat the Carolina Panthers to win Super Bowl 50.

#1. New York Giants, February 03, 2008 - Super Bowl XLII

Super Bowl XLII

Arguably the most painful loss of Tom Brady’s career came in Super Bowl XLII. In that game, the undefeated New England Patriots fell to the New York Giants.

The Patriots came into the game heavy favorites after sweeping aside all their opponents. Tom Brady had formed a dynamic duo with Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss. Moss had an NFL-record 23 touchdown receptions as Brady passed for 50 touchdowns on his way to his first MVP award.

Unfortunately for him, however, Eli Manning spoiled the Patriots' perfect season. He passed for two touchdowns against Brady’s one and the Giants won 17-14. In fact, Brady could only muster a passer rating of 82.5. That is way below his standards and not what we’re used to seeing of him on the big stage.